One
Patient + No Contacts = Six Patients GoneSometimes a "rule of thumb" needs to be
bent. In this case, inflexibility in one practice sent a whole family elsewhere.By
Andrew and Jan Rutsky, Solon, Ohio

Andrew
Rutsky, 12, has worn contact lenses since he was in the third grade.

My name is Andrew Rutsky. I'm 12 years old,
and I'm in the seventh grade. I like to play soccer and baseball and do tae kwon
do. When I was in the third grade, I found out I needed glasses. First, I got sports
glasses  the flexible kind where the earpieces curl around your ears 
but they broke, so I asked to get contacts. Dr. Stiegemeier said she thought I'd
do OK with them because my mom and dad and sister wear them.

I
got soft contact lenses. At first, it was a little hard to get them on my eyes and
they felt a little weird, but after a few days, I got the hang of it. I can see
fine, just the same as with glasses. I throw the contacts away every 2 or 3 weeks.

Now that I have contact lenses
and don't have to worry about breaking my glasses, I can be a little bit more physical
in sports. I'm glad I didn't have to wait until I was older.

MOM'S POINT OF VIEW

Andrew wore eyeglasses for about 6 months before
he got his contact lenses. I agreed he could try contacts because he's so active,
his eyeglasses would break, even his sports glasses. Also, his eyes were changing
fast, and he's very sensitive to the blurriness. Every 4 to 5 months, he'd need
a new prescription. He was 9 years old and in the third grade when he went to see
our family eye doctor Mary Jo Stiegemeier. Andrew's worn contact lenses ever since.
He's always taken care of his lenses himself and has never had a problem.

"Now that I have contacts and don't have to worry about breaking my glasses, I can
be a little bit more physical in sports."  Andrew Rutsky, age 12.

I wasn't surprised when Dr.
Stiegemeier let Andrew try contact lenses because she'd prescribed contacts for
my daughter when she was 11 years old. We'd been seeing another doctor at that time,
and he had a rule that he wouldn't prescribe contact lenses for anyone under the
age of 12  no exceptions. My daughter really wanted contacts. She played sports,
but for her, it was more about how she looked. She just didn't want to wear glasses.
Dr. Stiegemeier let her try contact lenses, and she did just fine. Having contacts
made a huge difference for my daughter.

THE FAMILY FOLLOWS

Our whole family sees Dr. Stiegemeier  the
four of us who need vision correction and the two who don't. She examined our 15-year-old
daughter about a year ago, and her eyes are fine. She also checked our 5-year-old
son. Even though he'd passed the vision test at pre-school, I noticed he was sitting
close to the TV, and I didn't want him going into kindergarten with a problem they
didn't catch. Dr. Stiegemeier did a full exam on him and said he's fine, but she
recommended that we watch him. We'll keep up with his yearly check-ups.

RECOGNIZE THE EXCEPTIONS

Our previous doctor said "no contacts till you're
12." Sometimes, that's a good general rule, but certain kids can handle contact
lenses. In certain circumstances, you may want to make an exception. That doctor
didn't lose one patient, he lost six!

Dr. Stiegemeier's Perspective

I
still remember the thrill of getting my first pair of eyeglasses. I wasn't really
symptomatic when my optometrist prescribed those –1.50D glasses, but when
I put them on and realized the beauty of clear vision, I was ecstatic.

I started wearing contact lenses
when I was 16. The first time I applied the lenses, I felt a little awkward handling
them. But in the end, I can say without a doubt, getting contact lenses was a life-altering
experience for me.

Because of my positive personal experience
with contact lenses, I proactively recommend them for young patients. I find young
children, pre-teens and teen-agers are very responsible and enthusiastic about
contact lenses. Pre-teens in particular are very aware of their looks and appreciate
not having to wear eyeglasses.

But it's not only appearance that stimulates
conversations about contact lenses for young patients. Concerns can range from best
visual acuity to improved athletic performance to myopia control.

In Andrew's case, he and his parents
were concerned about his sports goggles breaking as well as improving his athletic
performance. Being able to modify the prescription frequently during his growing
phase was an added benefit of contact lenses.

I've fit many children with
medically necessary contact lenses, and they've done quite well. The next logical
step is fitting kids without medical necessity. The results are fantastic.

If you're interested in including pediatric
contact lens care in your practice, I've found that patient and compassionate staff
members are essential. I recently fit a young man who was referred to me by one
of my successful pediatric patients. The new patient had gone to another practice
where the staff member could not apply his lenses. My patient told him my technician
Michelle was gentle and applied his lenses easily the first time. He came to
our office and was successfully fit with lenses.

These
patients are so happy and grateful, my staff and I derive a great deal of satisfaction
from working with them. I love fitting contact lenses on adolescents.

Bruce and Jan Rutsky and their four children are loyal patients of Mary Jo Stiegemeier,
OD, FAAO.

Staff Matters

Dr. Stiegemeier's office
staff is wonderful. I appreciate that. If a doctor hires pleasant people who remember
your name, talk to your kids and even ask about the kids who aren't at that appointment,
that makes a difference.

Jan Rutsky
Solon, Ohio

One-stop Shopping

We receive
flyers all the time with offers to buy contact lenses through mail-order or
wholesale clubs. But everyone in our family who wears contact lenses gets their
lenses and back-up glasses from Dr. Stiegemeier. It just makes sense to go to
her directly.

For example, if I
run out of lenses, I know I can get a pair right
away from Dr. Stiegemeier until the order comes in.
Also, my son Andrew's prescription was changing
faster than he was using his contact lenses. Dr.
Stiegemeier told me to return his unused lenses and
she'd exchange them for the new prescription as long
as the packages weren't opened.

I don't know if all
eye doctors do these things, but for me, that's
great customer service. Sometimes, doctors nickel
and dime you to death. Dr. Stiegemeier isn't like
that.

Jan Rutsky
Solon, Ohio

Family-friendly
Office

My youngest son Michael
must have been 3 when he discovered Dr. Stiegemeier's book shelf. He was reading
"My New Puppy" while we were waiting for his big sister and when it was time to
go, he didn't want to leave it. Dr. Stiegemeier told him he could take it home and
bring it back the next time he came to the office. She showed him inside the book
was the name of a little girl, one of her patients who gave her some books for children
to read in the waiting room. So when Michael brought the book back, he took some
of our books to leave there at the office. Little touches like this make a visit
to the doctor's office a pleasant experience.